Door latch operating handle



April 6, 1954 c. F. FRIEND DooR LATCH OPERATING HANDLE Original Filed May 8, 1945 Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Divided and t ber 6, `1948, Serial No. 63

. 5 Claims. 1

My invention relates to ameans vfor releasably restraining an vedge of a member and, more specifically, to a device 4.of this general .nature which fis particularly adapted for latching and locking doors, windows, gates, or other like members, which willA hereinafter be referred to by the general term door Thev present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 592,547, filed May 8, 1945, now PatentiNo. 2,485,042.

Most conventionalv door `latching mechanisms employ handles which must be rotated or otherwise manipulated in a direction which does not correspond to the direction of Vmotion to be communicated tothe door. Conventional Idevices of this character'frequently require that persons unfamiliar with the latching mechanism involved expend a considerable measure of time in-experimentation before iinally eiecting operation -thereof Although normally such an expenditure of time merely represents an un desirable inconvenience, situations may arise which demand that an unfamiliar door be operable instantaneously to permit passage therethrough without inordinate delay. A primary objective of my invention, therefore, is the provision of a latching device which permits operation of the `doorby merel-y pushing or pulling on suitable handles-to elfect displacement of the door .inthe direction of the applied force.

Conventionaldoor handles are apparently designed primar'ly-to perform aspecied operation with little Athought of safeguarding the hands of persons using the door or of providing handles with a smooth and uniform surface, Since common door handles areaccessible from almost any angle, injuries-resulting'ifrom inad. vertent insertion of Vthehands between the handle and door, orbetween the edge of the door and door jamb are not uncommon.

Another primary-objective of the invention, therefore, is to provide door handles which are only accessible for operation in a region removed from the edge of the door and which do not require that the handof an operator be inserted between the handle `and the door. I prefer to provide handles which are smooth and uniform to prevent injuries to person or damage to clothing andwhich are adapted to facilitate cleaning. operations. The provision of handlesof this character further results in a device which offers adistinctive and pleasing appecrance andwhieh may be employed t0 supple* ment conventional decorative installations.

Door lloclcswin generalfacceptance at present his application Decem- ,806

are ordinarily installed in mortised holes in the door and are provided with suitable handles for actuating the latching mechanism. The mortisingand subsequent installing operations are relatively complex and necessitate partial disassembly of the lock set to permit insertion of the various components thereof into the corresponding mortised holes. Simplication of the installing operations is another primary obiective of my invention. I prefer to provide a door lock assembly which may be inserted into an ordinary cut-out or notch in the edge of the door and which may be secured to the door in a simple manner. The invention also permits installation of the door lock set without any necessity for disassembly thereof, thereby materially reducing the installation time required.

An additionalcbjective of my invention is to provide a door lock set which may be employed in either a normal upright position or in an inverted position without alterations.

A further objective is to provide a lconvenient and simple means for locking the latching mechanism of the door lock assembly.

These and other objectives of my invention `may be realized by means of the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, which is for illustrative purposes only, wherein:

Fig. lis a side view ofthe door lock set with parts broken away to reveal the details of the latching and locking mechanisms;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the liner 2-2 of Fig. l and illustrates the latched position of the device;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrates the unlatchedy position;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 4-4 of- Fig. 1 and illustratesthe construction of the locking mechanism in detail;

Fig. 5 is a front View of the door lock assembly;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a housing for the latching and locking mechanisms; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a latching bolt.

The door lock set, indicated generally by the numeral Il), `is positioned in a cut-out or notch H vwhich extends inwardly from the forward edge I2 of a door I3, the latter being disposed adjacent a door amb i4 and a door stop l5, which are shown in phantom. The door jamb i4 is provided with an opening Hi therein which iairlv registry with an, opening I7 in a latch plate i8, the latter lacingy .adapted for `engagement with the door `loclrset :10, as will .be described in detail hereinafter.

The door lock set I includes a housing 20 containing a latching bolt 30 which may be reciprocated in the direction of the longitudinal axis thereof by a transversely displaceable actuating link 40, displacement of the latter being effected by handles 50 and 5I which are pivotally connected thereto and which are pivotally mounted on the housing 20. The latching bolt 30 may be locked in the latched position by means of a locking bolt 60 adapted for insertion between the latching bolt 30 and the housing 20, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

The housing 20, as best shown in Fig. 6, preferably comprises a pair of complementary plates 2l, the outer edges of which cooperate to form a channel section 22 which is complementary to and adapted for insertion in the notch I I in the door I3. Sides 23 of the channel 22 embrace the door I3 in the vicinity of the notch Il and are provided with holes 24 therethrough to permit securing the housing to the door I3 by screws 25. The central portions of the plates 2 i, which may be secured together by spot welding or otherwise as is well known in the art, cooperate to define a longitudinal guide passage 26 adapted for the reception of the latching bolt 36. The guide passage 26 is provided with a transverse slot 21 therethrough which is adapted to receive the actuating link 40 therein, and the housing 2@ is provided with an elongated opening 2?; therethrough for the reception of the locking bolt Sil. The forward ends of the channel 22 are provided with holes 23 therethrough to permit pivotal attachment of the handles 50 and 5I, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

The forward end 3I of the latching bolt El@ is tapered as illustrated to permit facile insertion thereof into the opening I1 in the latch plate I8, and the central portion of the latching bolt is provided with an elongated opening 32 therethrough to permit transverse insertion of the actuating link 40. The rear end of the opening 32 is inclined to define a cam surface 3 adapted for engagement with the actuating link 40, and a coil spring 34 is disposed in the opening 32 and coacts with the latching bolt 30 and the link 40 to maintain the tapered end 3l of the bolt 30 within the opening I1 in the latch plate I8. The rear end face 35 of the latching bolt Sii is adapted for engagement with the locking bolt 60, as will be discussed hereinafter.

The actuating link is provided with a notch 4I therein which defines a cam surface 42, the latter being complementary to and adapted for engagement with the cam surface 33 of the latching bolt 30 to cause longitudinal motion of the bolt 30 in the direction of the arrow 35 when the link 40 is displaced transversely in the direction of the arrow 43. The ends of the actuating link 40 are pivotally attached to the handles 5E and 5I by pins 44 and 45 extending through holes 4S and 41 in the link 40.

The handles and 5I, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, are pivotally secured to the housing 2Q by means of pins 52 extending through holes 53 therein and through the holes 29 in the forward ends of the channel 22. The handles 50 and 5i are preferably of the general smooth and arcuate form illustrated and diverge toward the rear of the door lock set I0. The rear edges of the handles 50 and 5I are provided with grooves ed therein which are preferably of a semi-circular configuration as illustrated to permit convenient reception of the fingertips of a person desirous of opening the door I3. The inner surfaces of 4 the handles 50 and 5I are provided with recesses 55 therein for the reception of the pivoted ends `of the actuating link 40 and are provided with grooves 56 which are adapted to receive the guide passage 26 therein. Transverse holes 51 through the handles 50 and 5I are provided to permit insertion of a key (not shown) into engagement with the lockingy bolt S0.

The locking bolt BIJ is preferably formed in two 'complementary sections BI which may be secured together by rivets 62 as illustrated in Fig. 4, or otherwise as is well known in the art. The locking bolt is provided with a pair of arms 53 which embraces the central portion of the hous- :ing 20 and is provided with a locking projection G4 which is adapted for insertion between the rear end face 35 of the latching bolt 30 and the housing 20 to, prevent rearward retraction of the forward end 3| of the latching bolt 30 from the opening I1 in the latch plate I8. The forward or free ends of the arms 63 are provided with vnotches 65 therein which are engageable by a key (not shown) inserted through one of the key holes 51 to effect operation of the locking bolt 60 to lock or unlock the door, the unlocked position of the locking bolt 60 being in phantom in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 2 and assuming an open position for the door I3 with the locking bolt t@ in the unlocked position, the door I3 may be closed in the direction of the arrow 1li by pushing on the handle 50 (or the door I3) or pulling on the handle 5I as indicated by the arrows 10 and "it, respectively. The tapered forward end 3i of the latching bolt 30 will engage the entering edge i3 of the latch plate I8 and the bolt 3E will be displaced rearwardly, thereby compressing the spring 34. As the tapered end 3I enters into registry with the opening I1 in the latch plate I8, the compressed spring 34 will urge the tapered end 3i into the opening I1, thereby latching the door I3 with the forward edge I2 of the latter abutting the stop I5 as best shown in Fig. 2. The locking bolt 60 may then be actuated by a suitable key to lock the door I3.

When the door I3 is to be opened in the direction of the arrow 'I5 of Fig. 3, the locking bolt 60 may be unlocked and the door I3 opened by placing the fingertips in the groove 5@ in the handle 50 and pulling thereon as indicated by the arrow 12, or by pushing on the handle 5i in the direction of the arrow 13. The displacement of the handles 50 and 5I effects transverse displacement of the actuating link 40 in the direction indicated by the arrow 43 whereby the cam surfaces 33 and 42 cooperate to retract the latehing bolt 30 and effect disengagement between the tapered end 3I and the latch plate i8.

From the preceding discussion, it will be apparent that the forces applied to the handles 50 and 5I are always in the direction of motion to be communicated to the door I3, whether a closing or opening operation be involved.. Thus, a person desirous of opening or closing the door I3 need merely obey his natural impulses regarding the operation thereof. It should further be noted that since the handles 50 and 5I are only adapted for operation by the fingertips at the rea;` edges thereof when pulling thereon, the handles 55 and 5I are only accessible in a region well removed from the edge I2 of the door I3, thus making inadvertent insertion of the hands between the door I3 and door jamb Id virtually impossible. The design of the handles 5D and 5I and grooves. 54 also prevents entrapment of the hands between the door I3 and the handles 5i) and 5I, a common occurrence with conventional handles of the knob or 100D type. The smoothness and uniformity of the handles 56 and 5I makes injuries to person or damage to clothing impossible, since there are no rough projections to cause such injury or damage. Furthermore, the handle design obviates the frequent damage to clothing resulting from hooking a pocket of a garment over the conventional door handles. The handles 56 and 5i are adapted for fabrication from any suitable metallic or thermoplastic materials in a variety of pleasing colors and may be employed to offer a material contribution to the color scheme of a room. rlhe uniform smoothness and regularity of the surfaces of the handles 69 and 5l also greatly facilitate cleaning and polishing operations.

The novel connguration of the housing permits insertion of the door lock set i9 in a simple cut-out or notch l l and materially facilitates installation of the device i6, since the latter may be inserted in the notch Il as a completely assembled unit with no necessity for the removal of knobs or handles. Conventional units require mortising operations to provide suitable holes and reduire partial disassembly in order to effect installation thereof, both being rather laborious operations. My invention also provides a door lock set l0 which may be employed either in the normal upright or in an inverted position without any alterations whatsoever.

The housing 29, link Lit, and bolts 39 and 66 are preferably fabricated from suitable metallic materials while the handles 56 and 5| are preferably formed of an appropriate thermoplastic material. It will be understood, however, that the scope of the invention is not to be limited to the materials suggested, since any suitable materials may be employed, as is well known in A the art. It will be understood also that although I have illustrated an application of my invention 'to a door I3 which is operable in only one direction and Whose travel is limited by a door stop i5, I do not intend to be limited to the exact construction shown, since my underlying inventive concept relates to a device which may readily be adapted for employment with doors operable in both directions.

The specific embodiment which I have described herein for the purpose of disclosing my inventive concept will suggest to those procient in the art various other changes, substitutions, and modifications, many of which may be incorporated without departing from the spirit of the invention; I do not intend, therefore, to be limited to the speciic disclosures contained herein and hereby reserve the right to all such changes, substitutions, and modifications that properly lie Within the scope of my appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a latching device which is adapted for being mounted adjacent an edge of a door, the combination of a housing; and a handle pivotally mounted on said housing and having a surface which is substantially parallel to and spaced from said edge of the door when the latching device is mounted on the door, which is generally perpendicular to said housing and which is provided with an elongated recess therein for the finger tips of an operator, those portions of said surface which are on opposite sides of said recess being at least substantially in the same plane.

2. A handle for a latching device which is adapted for being mounted adjacent an edge of a door, said handle including a rear surface which is substantially parallel to and spaced from said edge of the door when the latching device is mounted on the door and which is provided with a recess therein for the finger tips of an operator, said handle including a smooth arcuate outer surface which is generally S-shaped, said rear surface extending substantially uninterruptedly, except for said recess, from an inner surface o1" said handle to said outer surface thereof.

3. A handle for a latching device, said handle being of generally right triangular cross-sectional form and including a smooth arcuate outer surface which is generally S-shaped.

4. A handle for a latching device, said handle being of generally triangular cross-sectional form and having an inner surface, an outer surface inclined outwardly with respect to said inner surface, and having a third surface interconnecting said inner and outer surfaces, said third surface having a recess therein for the ingertips of an operator.

5. A handle according to claim 4 wherein said outer surface is generally S-shaped.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 53,364 Upton Mar. 20, 1866 89,852 Cilley May 11, 1869 93,112 Mosher July 27, 1869 1,614,656 Corell Jan. 18, 1927 1,792,154 Farmer Feb, 10, 1931 2,106,951 Hubbell Feb. 1, 1938 2,128,535 Lindstrom Aug. 30, 1938 2,295,987 McCarthy June 25, 1940 2,304,145 Borchers Dec. 8, 1942 2,317,699 Thompson Apr. 27, 1943 2,321,724 Aldeen et al June 15, 1943 2,383,574 Voight Aug. 28, 1945 2,479,256 Radcliffe Aug. 16, 1949 

